Sci-fi film festival adds world premiere, new score, and award winners

DAILY ScreensNovember 5, 2016, by Richard Whittaker

"...Techno-allegories, futuristic thrillers, and Anne Hathaway obsessives: The latest round of announcements for sci-fi film festival Other WorldsAustin and its UnderWorldsAustin horror sub-strand has it all...."

"...Today may seem grim, but the future, well, at least sci-fi holds out some hope for a better tomorrow. As SF celebration Other WorldsAustin morphs into its latest incarnation, founder Bears Fonté said, "This is definitely our best festival yet."..."

"...Sci-fi film festival Other WorldsAustin has established itself as a place to celebrate new and cutting edge future visions. This year, it will celebrate a classic with a gala screening of Roger Corman's beloved Battle Beyond the Stars, and a special award for star and guest of honor Sybil Danning...."

"...Strap in for the future: Dedicated SF film festival Other WorldsAustin has just launched wave one of its lineup, with Beyond Skyline prepping for alien invasion and the opening night headline slot...."

"...Other WorldsAustin, the dedicated sci-fi film festival, is coming up this week, but they saved some big announcements for last. Joining cult faves and cutting edge creations, now OWA adds Austin author-turned-scriptwriter Owen Egerton's latest, The Axe Murders of Villisca...."

"...When Bears Fonté announced that he would be holding the first Other WorldsAustin festival this Dec. 4-6, it was going to be a small affair, with one screen at the Galaxy Highland showing nothing but sci-fi films for three days..."

"...The film, which screens Thursday as part of Other WorldsAustin's year-round programming, finds orphan Bridd Cole (Austin Hébert) on the run from mysterious helmet-wearing thugs after he gets a delivery for his dead mother, and finds out a lot more about his mysterious heritage than he could have hoped or wanted. "I’ve always been really interested in issues of identity," said Ahmed..."

"...Be My Cat (which screened as part of Other WorldsAustin's UnderWorlds horror strand, and arrives on VOD from Artsploitation today) begins with a display of startling technical ineptitude. Adrian (writer/director/producer and star Adrian Tofei) is an aspirational filmmaker in a tiny Romanian village who dreams of making a film with Anne Hathaway..."

"...The Kickstarter-funded, Portland-set comedy was the perfect light-hearted closer to last weekend's second Other WorldsAustin Science Fiction Film Festival, even if it stretched the definition of sci-fi beyond the breaking point. Instead, it's a giddy, hilarious riff on the zombie romantic comedy...."

"...The film screens in Austin on May 28, as part of the year-round programming from Other WorldsAustin film festival. Before its Texas premiere, Joalland talked to the Chronicle about the human and alien threats that drive the film..."

"...After wading into the sociopolitical mire of the Middle East and wallowing in the muck of Michael Haneke's extended bourgeois nightmare, the Austin Film Society's Essential Cinema Series is wisely shaking the dust of this miserable little planet off its feet for a few months and heading out into the cosmos. On June 5, they'll raise the curtain on Other Minds, Other Worlds: Global Sci-fi Cinema, an international collection of science-fiction classics and rarities from the last century...."

"...Don Walser at the granddaddy of South Austin live music venues, the Broken Spoke. photograph by John Carrico The first time Willie Nelson played the Broken Spoke, he spoke softly, lived in Nashville, and looked the part of a humble country singer: short hair, clean-shaven, a modest turtleneck and Western vest..."

"...Not all revolutions are grand and not all radical acts are born from extraordinary circumstances, but every day, Austin's queer community shows up for one another in ways that can only be described as profound. It's Pride in Austin, and in keeping with this year's theme of revolution, we're paying homage to the city's LGBTQ community for taking care of its own – for taking care of us – when the going gets tough.
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"...Now
that the Austin
economy is softening, we can all take a little time out to reflect on the
spiritual side of things. At least that's what the organizers of the First
Annual Austin Whole Life Expo are hoping..."

"...Everyone from graphic designers to grandpas goes two-stepping, but even in 2017, walking into a dance club in Austin feels cheesy. Despite a recent electronic music boom, house and techno sprang far afield from the Third Coast and don't have the same cultural roots as dance music meccas like Detroit, New York City, or Chicago, where they renamed a street Hot Mix 5 Way in honor of pioneering house music DJs..."